Orange is the New Black actor’s family deported when she was 14
By Alexandra Heilbron on November 20, 2014 | 1 Comment
In an op-ed piece published recently in the Los Angeles Times, Diane Guerrero, who plays Maritza Ramos on the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black revealed that when she was 14, her parents and older brother were taken by immigration officials and deported back to Colombia. Diane, who was born in New Jersey, was only 14 at the time and came home to an empty house. She found out from a neighbor what had happened. She wrote: “Not a single person at any level of government took any note of me. No one checked to see if I had a place to live or food to eat, and at 14, I found myself basically on my own.” Diane was born in New Jersey and says she watched her parents try for years to become legal, hiring “people they believed to be attorneys, but who ultimately never helped.”
In a new interview with CNN she broke down as she remembered the day. She said she’d come home excited to tell her parents about something that happened at school when she saw: “Their cars were there and dinner was started and the lights were on but I couldn’t find them.” She added, “I broke down. I hid under the bed because I was afraid that someone was going to come for me. I don’t know who that someone was, but I was just so scared.” Diane also revealed that her brother left behind a toddler daughter, who was then raised by a single mother and who “made the wrong friends and bad choices. Today, she is serving time in jail, living the reality that I act out on screen.”
However, several readers wrote to the LA Times and they were not sympathetic to Guerrero’s plight, saying “Immigrants here illegally shouldn’t have committed the violation if they were not willing to accept the consequences” and “If keeping families together is so important, why didn’t her family take her with them when they were deported?” What do you think? Vote below:[poll id=”715″]
Comments & Discussion
Similar Articles
What’s New on Netflix Canada – July 2018
June 28, 2018 | Leave a Comment
Whether you want comedy, drama or horror, Netflix has a mix of originals and classics that are a perfect mix for summer viewing either alone or with family.
Canadians reveal their first Netflix binge
February 8, 2018 | Leave a Comment
Netflix revealed which series Canadians first binged on after joining Netflix. Celebs such as Ashton Kutcher and Jodie Foster also reveal their first binge.
Netflix’s 2017 Year in Review reveals viewing habits
December 15, 2017 | Leave a Comment
Netflix has revealed some interesting viewing habits of its Canadian members. Here’s the list of shows that got us cheating and those that brought us together.
I feel awful for her, but her parents knew the consequences. If everyone who sneaked into the U.S. illegally were allowed to stay, no one would bother going through the legal methods of getting in. I’d go too, right now, if I thought I would be allowed to stay with no consequences. Plus, how were they making money all those years? Likely under the table. And how do you leave a 14 year old daughter behind?